Iraqi Military Leaders Surrounding Saddam

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, February 1, 2003

Among the military leaders surrounding Iraqi President Saddam Hussein are close relatives, members of his clan, and others who have demonstrated absolute loyalty. Here are the major figures:

_Saddam's son Qusai supervises the elite Republican Guard even though he escaped the compulsory military service required of most young Iraqi men. Exiled critics of Saddam link Qusai to brutal crackdowns on the regime's opponents.

_Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known among Saddam's opponents as "Ali Chemical," is a member of the Revolutionary Command Council. He led the 1988 campaign against rebellious Kurds in northern Iraq in which thousands of Kurds died, many in chemical attacks.

_Saddam's clansman Gen. Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti is the secretary general of the army's general command, and Minister of Defense Sultan Hashim Ahmed was the Iraqi commander who signed the 1991 Gulf War cease-fire. Both men served Saddam during the 1980-1988 war with Iran and later in the 1991 Gulf War, demonstrating absolute loyalty. Ahmed is considered a military professional and began his career in military intelligence after graduating from Baghdad's National Security Institute in 1975.

_Gen. Ibrahim Abdel Sattar, who spent almost all his career in the elite Republican Guard, was made army chief of staff three years ago. He is from near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad.

_Saddam's cousin Gen. Kamal Mustafa is a commander of the Republican Guard, where he has spent almost his entire career. His brother is married to Saddam's youngest daughter, Hala.